1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to firearms, and more specifically to muzzleloading firearms. The invention is a gas check connected to the rear part of a muzzleloader projectile, or bullet, the gas check comprising an external radial ridge for easier loading and/or a radial internal locking edge for better securing the gas check to the projectile.
2. Related Art
To function most effectively, muzzle-loading firearms preferably involve the use of a bullet in conjunction with some type of wad or gas check member. Throughout the history of such firearms, various configurations that embrace this design principle have been utilized. The wad or gas check is used to secure the bullet properly within the bore without significant deformation of the bullet, and to prevent the escape of forward thrusting gases around the bullet upon firing the firearm. Prior to the use of wads or gas checks, a malleable lead bullet, with a diameter necessarily greater than that of the bore of the firearm, was ram-rodded down the barrel. In this manner, the bullet was frictionally secured in place over the powder charge and engaged with the rifling of the bore, but was often malformed when being so placed.
The use of sabots or wrappers was later introduced to facilitate another mechanism of securing the bullet in place in the bore of the barrel. These devices surround a sub-caliber bullet to engage the rifling and secure the bullet without requiring the deformation of a large diameter bullet. When the firearm is discharged, the interaction between wrapper and rifling imparts spin to the bullet. C. T. James and A. Ball obtained U.S. Pat. Nos. 34,950 and 405,690, respectively, for such wrapper-type devices.
D. D. Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 35,273, and G. P. Ganster, U.S. Pat. No. 43,017, acquired patents for inventions in which the wad was directly attached to the bullet for use in muzzle-loading firearms.
Significant reductions in the efficiency of such firearms often result from destructive interactions between the bullet and bore. When wrappers are used to surround the bullet, the positioning of the wrapper between the bullet and bore may affect the ballistic qualities of the shot. In the case of large-diameter bullets, the scoring and deformation of the projectile that results from the loading process may affect the discharge of the bullet from the bore as well as the in-flight aerodynamics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,064 (Kearns) discloses a gas check affixed to the rear of a bullet, for the purpose of capturing and controlling the forward-thrusting gasses. The Kearns gas check is connected to the bullet by means of a pin extending from, or into a cavity of, the back of a muzzleloading bullet. In this patent, the bullet has an outer diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the firearm barrel, and the gas check has an outer diameter slightly greater than the inner barrel diameter. Kearns provides his gas check member for use with sub-caliber bullets, wherein the diameter of the gas check slightly exceeds that of the bore. The gas check is frictionally attached rearward of the bullet and is constructed of deformable, but durable, plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,356 (Gualandi) discloses an enclosed projectile with external ridges on the enclosure for a firearm cartridge. This reference relates to firearm cartridges, and does not relate to muzzleloading firearms. Also, in this reference, the enclosure separates from the side walls of the projectile immediately upon firing, so the enclosure does not interact with the projectile after firing like a sabot does.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,068 (Crowson et al.) also discloses a gas check similar to the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,064, above, with the additional feature of an expanded-shape pin at the back end of the bullet. The pin has a distal end that is larger than its proximal end that is attached to the back of the bullet. An expanded-shape pin installed in a round hole of the gas check provides a gap between the pin and the gas check which allows exploding gases to more easily separate the gas check from the bullet when desired.
U.S. Published Patent Application #2004/0079256 (McMurray et al.) discloses an enclosed projectile with interconnected collapsible fins which create a front compressible section for a projectile from a firearm cartridge. Therefore, this reference does not relate to muzzleloading firearms. Also, in this reference there is no disclosure that the collapsible fins interact with the bore of the firearm after firing, like a gas check does.
Still, there is a need for a gas check for muzzleloading firearms that acts to keep the bullet projectile secured in the barrel, even during the rigors of hunting or other handling prior to shooting the firearm. Also, there is a need for such a gas check that is easy to load, especially after the barrel has been fouled by earlier shooting. There is also a need for a frictionally-attached gas check for use in muzzle-loading firearms that is preferably designed to quickly and reliably detach from the bullet and/or break apart upon firing to minimize interference by the gas check with the bullet after the bullet leaves the bore. Various embodiments of the present invention address selected, or all, of these needs.